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New Headache Specialist
I saw the headache specialist several readers have recommended and really liked him. After more than two hours with me (we had to schedule a second appointment to fit it all in!) he speculated that some of my headaches are actually caused by new daily persistent headache. In the past, my chronic daily headache was always attributed to migraine transforming to everyday.

Although the doctor wants to see me monthly, the next available appointment is in March. Before then I’m supposed to get a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and more blood work. My last lumbar puncture resulted in a three-week headache and wasn’t responsive to a blood patch. I’m not looking forward to it.

Menstrual Migraine
I got a birth control pill prescription to see if it will manage the two-day migraines I get when my period starts. In typical fashion, I haven’t filled the prescription. The migraine that kept me in bed my first two days of vacation in Mexico should motivate me to to take it to the pharmacy.

Allergies
After always feeling worse after vacation, I finally admitted my headaches and migraines are worse in Seattle than elsewhere. I was in Kansas for a funeral the last weekend of October. I was shocked to wake up two mornings in a row with a barely perceptible headache. Nor was I as congested as I always am at home. I took Zyrtec for a few days and both my congestion and migraines were less. Not a reliable experiment. It unfortunately made me nauseated, so I couldn’t keep taking it. I’m trying Claritin now.

When I was tested for allergies when I was 14, I responded most strongly to mold. That wasn’t an issue in Phoenix — quite the opposite in Seattle. Studies indicate than while allergies don’t cause headache, they can trigger migraines. Thursday I’m seeing an allergist and will probably get tested for allergies. Maybe she can sort something out.

Convergence insufficiency occurs when your eyes don’t turn inward properly when you focus on a nearby object. When you read or look at a nearby object, your eyes should turn inward while you focus, so you can see a single image. But if you have convergence insufficiency, you need to use extra effort to move your eyes inward for focusing. This extra effort results in various symptoms, including eyestrain.

I’m now using an eye patch when I read or am on the computer. So far, I’ve been able to squeak out about an hour on computer with it. I still get a headache if I push it, but it is mild and doesn’t explode into a migraine. If the eye patch continues to be OK, I’ll get prescription reading glasses with a prism, which I can wear over my contacts.